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Knox County hears first quarterly EMS report under new AMR contract; 911 dispatch merge planned
Summary
AMR and Knox County staff told commissioners on May 13 that staffing and unit hours have risen under the new AMR contract, nurse-navigation referrals reduced transports and hospital offload times are improving. Knox 911 staff said merging EMS dispatch will require roughly $1 million in equipment and 20–22 new positions.
Knox County commissioners heard the first quarterly report from AMR and county emergency services on May 13, with presenters saying operational changes under the new contract are producing measurable improvements while the county plans a costly consolidation of EMS dispatch into Knox 911.
AMR regional director Josh Spencer said the hiring push since October produced “a 31% increase in our staff,” raising EMT and paramedic counts from about 178 to nearly 240 through April. He said unit hours — the count of ambulances on the street per hour — rose from roughly 9,300 to nearly 12,000 across the system, and transport rates have declined as nurse navigation and telehealth options were used in place of ambulance-to-hospital trips.
"That presents a very healthy EMS system," Spencer said, noting reduced…
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